1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates to pile translating and launching systems, and particularly for pile translating and launching systems for securing marine structures, such as floating platforms, drilling or production risers, vessels, and the like.
2. Description of Related Art
Often marine structures used in offshore petroleum industry are moored to a pile that is anchored to a sea floor. The pile is generally a tubular element that is installed into seabed deposits that form the sea floor. The size of the pile can vary and an exemplary size is about 35-55 meters long and about 2-3 meters in diameter. The pile includes a top, sometimes known as a “pile cap,” attached to tubular sides, and is open at the bottom. A valve can be used to help set the pile. The pile further includes a padeye. The padeye generally is a reinforced section that is attached to the sidewall of the pile along the middle of its length and extends outward from the pile. The padeye is used to attach an anchor line, chain, or other coupling member to an offshore platform or other structure (not shown) that may need mooring or otherwise securing.
Typically, a load of piles is floated to the site to be offloaded into the sea and installed into the sea floor. Some prior systems lift the pile from an end with a hoist, such as a crane, and maneuver the pile to the side of a ship, barge, or other vessel to lower the pile into the sea. This process is known to be dangerous due to the lifting.
Another known system disclosed in U.S. Publ. No. 20070017680, allows the pile to roll down an inclined rail to a stop near the side of a vessel. The stop can be rotated to allow the pile to roll off the vessel and into the sea. The system requires the pile to roll along a surface to move to the side of the vessel.
However, some piles are not intended to be rolled and could be damaged from such rolling. For example, some cylinders, shafts, chains, and other equipment can be mounted along a length of the pile that inhibits rolling of the pile. Thus, the system in U.S. Publ. No. 20070017680 would be unsuitable for launching such a pile.
Therefore, there remains a need to provide an improved system and method that can launch a pile into the sea or other marine environment, such as the ocean or other body of water, that solves the limitations of the prior art.